Nifty ends above 6300, Sensex up 32 points; ITC falls 2%

4:00 pm Market closing (final): After a blockbuster rally, the Sensex ended up 32.29 points at 21196.81, and the Nifty closed at 6307.20, up 8.05 points. About 1393 shares advanced, 1041 shares declined, and 166 shares were unchanged.

3:50 pm Best Nifty performers since Nov 2010: Sun Pharma , HCL Tech , HUL gave over 100 percent returns. Asian Paints , TCS , Lupin , ITC , UltraTech Cement , IndusInd Bank , Tata Motors , Kotak Mah Bank gave returns between 50-100 percent.

3:40 pm Boardroom: Pharma giant Glenmark is confident of exceeding its top-line and EBITDA guidance for the year. MD & CEO Glenn Saldanha said that the company continues to maintain 20 percent sales guidance given earlier. The company's Q2 profit after tax (PAT) slipped 2 percent year-on-year to Rs 157.3 crore , impacted by higher finance cost and higher tax outflow. Its revenue rose 17 percent on yearly basis to Rs 1,463 crore, aided by US and India businesses. He expects Glenmark's emerging market business to recover in the second half of the year and sees the India business continuing strong growth.

3:30 Market closing: Nifty closes above 6300 for first time since Nov 9, 2010. Nifty ends at 6307, 5 points away from all-time closing high. BSE Sensex ends at 21,178 after hitting record high of 21,294. BSE Midcap is still down 40 percent from all-time high while Small Cap index is still 58% from all-time high.

3:20 pm Results: Berger Paints reported better-than-expected numbers on every parameter with the second quarter (July-September) net profit rising 17.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 62.7 crore, driven by decorative business.

"The company's decorative business recorded good double digit volume growth, driven by healthy performance across all geographies, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, Abhijit Roy, MD said.

Total income from operations grew 19 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 966.2 crore in three-month period ended September 2013.

3:10 pm Market outlook: The Sensex has touched an all time high, but one is not sure if this would result in participation from retail investors, who have been  sitting on sidelines for quite sometime now, says Raamdeo Agarwal, Joint MD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Other asset classes like gold and realty are flat and even the fixed income side of the market looks dicey, still they not looking to allocate even 5-10-15 percent to equities, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. The sense that prevails among retail investors is to book out of the market at 6,200, he added. Meanwhile, he sees a sell-off post election results. As of now, he does not recommend selling beaten down sectors.

The market is maintaining its momentum with the Sensex at 21204.65, up 40.13 points. The Nifty is up 10.45 points at 6309.60. About 1317 shares have advanced, 1014 shares declined, and 156 shares are unchanged.

Despite the euphoria on Dalal Street, billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala says it doesn't feel like an all-time high market. "I think the real new high will be when (Nifty) goes to 6700," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Gold was flat, trading close to its lowest in nearly two weeks after sharp losses in the previous session caused by month-end profit taking, strong U.S. economic data and a higher dollar, reports Reuters.

The metal is headed for a 2 percent weekly drop - its first in three weeks - with expectations the Federal Reserve will maintain its economic stimulus now factored in.

02:59pm AIA Engineering on fire
AIA Engineering rallied 19 percent intraday to touch a 52-week high of Rs 462.05 on the BSE after reporting 84 percent growth in second quarter consolidated net profit of Rs 73.6 crore and 11 percent growth in consoildated net sales of Rs 474 crore year-on-year.

02:50pm MCX up 5%
MCX-SX has appointed Gopal Krishna Pillai as chairman of exchange and Thomas Mathew as vice chairman of exchange.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India was locked at 5 percent upper circuit at Rs 497.10. There were pending buy orders of 12,910 shares, with no sellers available.

02:40pm Gold Update
Gold December futures rose 0.36 percent to Rs 29900 per 10 gram on the MCX. Ram Pitre, Anand Rathi Commodities sees gold correcting further after Diwali in Indian as well as international markets.

For next Diwali, he expects the yellow metal to be around Rs 23,000 per 10gm to Rs 24,000 per 10gm in domestic market and touch around USD 1,100 per ounce in international market.

Gold saw a steep fall in international market on Thursday due to losses caused by month-end profit booking, strong US economic data and a higher dollar. The metal was trading around Rs 29,925/10 gm on Friday.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Pitre says the overall movement of gold from the top of USD 1,921 per ounce in 2011 to a steep fall to almost USD 1,180 per ounce in 2013 looks like it will have to be sold on rally.

02:30pm Berger Paints rises further post Q2 earnings

Shares of Berger Paints gained nearly 3 percent on better-than-expected second quarter numbers.

Net profit rose 17.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 62.7 crore and total income from operations grew 19 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 966.2 crore in three-month period ended September 2013.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average had expected the paint company to report net profit of Rs 54.3 crore on total income of Rs 914 crore for the quarter.

02:22pm Equity benchmarks remained choppy in afternoon trade, but the broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining 0.8-1.1 percent.

The Sensex is up 25.43 points at 21189.95, and the Nifty is up 9.55 points at 6308.70. About 1252 shares advanced while 994 shares declined on the BSE.

Bull markets always climb a wall of worry and right now the market is looking ahead to the election cycle and a new administration; that is why it is powering up, says Ramesh Damani.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Damani said retail investors should not try to time the market, and would be better off focusing on good businesses.

"I don't think it is a good idea to time the market; only in very extreme points is it possible to time the market either on the upside or the downside. My advice is to invest in great businesses, be it this Diwali or the next, and feel as if you own a part of the business," said.

State Bank of India is the top gainer in the Sensex, rising 5 percent on hopes that the worst is over for PSU banks in terms of asset quality after looking at stable earnings from Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of Baroda .

Among midcaps, AIA Engineering, Indian Bank , Corporation Bank , Oriental Bank and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur rallied 8-12 percent

1:50 pm Market outlook: Sandeep Bhatia of Kotak Institutional Equities advises investors to stay invested in the market and pick stocks having good valuations and credible business model.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Bhatia says the present market rally will now move to segments that were undervalued in the past like the PSU banks. Going forward, he believes if elections result give a positive outcome, the market could rally further.

The Indian market on Friday touched its all-time high with the Sensex breaking down its previous high of 21206 after 70 months.

1:40 pm Market check: Market loses early gains, as Sensex slips from its record high. Oil & gas, IT weak. The Sensex is down 12.69 points at 21151.83, and the Nifty is down 1.35 points at 6297.80. About 1216 shares have advanced, 1016 shares declined, and 152 shares are unchanged.

1:30 pm Buzzer: Shares of Hero Motocorp gained 3.5 percent intraday to touch a 52-week high of Rs 2,149.65 on the BSE after reporting record sales in October.

India's largest two-wheeler maker sold 6.25 lakh units in the month gone by, registering growth of 18.2 percent compared to a year ago month and growth of 33.5 percent compared to previous month.

It was driven by higher dispatches due to Navratri and Dussehra and higher production in October to offset production loss at Haridwar plant in September. Numbers are expected to pick up further ahead of Diwali, feel analysts.

After a spectacular rally, the market has gone flat in afternoon trade. The Sensex is up 14.87 points at 21179.39, and the Nifty up 4.80 points at 6303.95. About 1182 shares have advanced, 937 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged.

Oil & gas, IT, FMCG and consumer durable stocks have slipped in the red. ONGC , NTPC , ITC , Hindalco and GAIL are laggards in the Sensex.

Gold was flat, trading close to its lowest in nearly two weeks after sharp losses in the previous session caused by month-end profit taking, strong US economic data and a higher dollar, reports Reuters.

The metal is headed for a 2 percent weekly drop - its first in three weeks - with expectations the Federal Reserve will maintain its economic stimulus now factored in.

12:55pm Hero registers record sales in October

India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp registered record sales of 6.25 lakh units in October, up 18.2 percent over a year ago month and up 33.5 percent over previous month.

12:50pm Market Update
The market is volatile after hitting a record high of 21,293.88 in early trade. The Sensex is up 16.41 points at 21180.93, and the Nifty is up 5.55 points at 6304.70.

Sandeep Bhatia of Kotak Institutional Equities advises investors to stay invested in the market and pick stocks having good valuations and credible business model.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Bhatia says the present market rally will now move to segments that were undervalued in the past like the PSU banks. Going forward, he believes if elections result give a positive outcome, the market could rally further.

12:40pm Berger Paints gains 1.5 percent ahead of Q2 earnings

Berger Paints, the second largest player in the decorative paints market with a 17 percent market share, will declare its second quarter (July-September) results today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts expect share of decorative paints and within that premium emulsions to increase in overall revenues. However, industrial paints demand will remain muted in the quarter, they feel.

During September quarter, the company is expected to benefit from the price growth of 3 percent Y-o-Y.

Volume growth is likely to be at around 9-10 percent year-on-year, driven partly by filling in of the dealer channel due to price increases and sales push due to Diwali being sooner by 2 weeks in FY14. Volume growth was around 3 percent in Q2FY13.

Analysts feel tax rate could be higher at 30 percent in second quarter as against 26 percent in a year ago period.

They expect international operations to report 10 percent Y-o-Y growth and profits for international business to turn black in the quarter gone by.

12:30pm Market Expert
The Sensex has touched an all time high, but one is not sure if this would result in participation from retail investors, who have sitting on sidelines for quite sometime now, says Raamdeo Agarwal, Joint MD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Other asset classes like gold and realty are flat and even the fixed income side of the market looks dicey, still they not looking to allocate even 5-10-15 percent to equities, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

The sense that prevails among retail investors is to book out of the market at 6,200, he added.

Meanwhile, he sees a sell-off post election results. As of now, he does not recommend selling beaten down sectors.

12:15pm ITC Under Pressure
ITC is the top loser among Sensex stocks, falling nearly 2 percent.

Sakthi Siva of Credit Suisse suggests a switch out of expensive defensives like ITC into cyclicals. She is overweight cyclicals.

"In India, the Credit Suisse regional model portfolio only has cyclicals - HCL Technologies , Wipro , Tata Motors and Reliance Industries . On our P/ BV versus ROE valuation model, the biggest discounts currently are with Cairn India , BHEL , Coal India and Hindustan Zinc ," Credit Suisse report said.

12:00pm The market is off its record high on profit booking. The Sensex is up 34.27 points at 21198.79, and the Nifty is up 10.70 points at 6309.85.

The broader markets remained strong as advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 1188 to 782 on the BSE. The BSE Midcap Index gained 1.1 percent and Smallcap rose 0.8 percent.

BHEL shares gained more than 2 percent on reports that the state-run capital goods major received order worth Rs 2,569 crore from Neyveli Lignite .

State Bank of India gained 4 percent again on short covering and value buying on hopes of good results that is likely to be announced within next two weeks. Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of Baroda reported stable earnings on Thursday, so traders may be betting on the stock with same expectations.

11:55 am Market outlook: Bull markets always climb a wall of worry and right now the market is looking ahead to the election cycle and a new administration; that is why it is powering up, says Ramesh Damani, analyst.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Damani said retail investors should not try to time the market, and would be better off focusing on good businesses.

"I don't think it is a good idea to time the market; only in very extreme points is it possible to time the market either on the upside or the downside. My advice is to invest in great businesses, be it this Diwali or the next, and feel as if you own a part of the business," said.

11:45am Sector check: India's tyre firms have stocked up on rubber at low prices, locking in healthy margins that have helped their share prices outperform those of international competitors over the past month. The two biggest gainers among the 59 tyre and rubber companies in the Thomson Reuters Global Index over that period were CEAT Ltd and JK Tyre and Industries Ltd , which rose 51 percent and 39 percent respectively.

11:36 am Market check: The Sensex is up 72.30 points or  at 21236.82, and the Nifty is up 24.30 points at 6323.45.

About 1205 shares have advanced, 748 shares declined, and 123 shares are unchanged.

SBI is up 3.4 percent while Hero Motocorp , Jindal Steel , and Coal India gain 3 percent each. ONGC is down 2 percent,  ITC falls over 1 percent.

11:30 am Boardroom: Consumer sentiment has been rather weak in Q2 and that has affected discretionary spending, says Bhaskar Bhat, managing director, Titan. Though utility items and apparels have done better.

He hopes to continue with the margin improvement efforts in jewellery and watches through product mix enhancement rather than cost compression. He told CNBC-TV18, "Everybody in the government is appreciative of the business model of Titan in the jewellery business and therefore understands the need to provide us with that support on hedging, so it will take a while but we are confident we will be able to get that."

11:20 am Big bull: Maverick investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (Rare Enterprise) says despite the market testing new high, retail investor participation is weak. He firmly believes that the market will hit real new highs when investor participation rises.  In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says that global investors are underweight on India. "The market is expecting Modi-led BJP to come to power in 2014," he adds.

11:15 am Update: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has reduced its stake in Tata Global Beverages Ltd by 2.02 percent, selling 1.25 crore shares in the open market. LIC, which had 7.63 percent stake earlier, brought down its shareholding in the company to 5.60 percent by selling shares between December 27, 2012 and October 29, 2013, Tata Global Beverages said in a filing to the BSE.

11:10 am Macro data: Indian factories cut production in October with overall manufacturing activity contracting for the third straight month as order books shrank at a quicker pace, a survey showed, reports Reuters.

Another grim Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) suggests the slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy is becoming entrenched despite some mark up in overseas demand which prompted firms to hire more workers.

The HSBC Manufacturing PMI compiled by Markit was unchanged at 49.6 in October, remaining below the watershed 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.

Indian market is sparkling just ahead of the festival of lights. Touching an-all time this morning, the market seems to be in high spirits. The Sensex is up 57.31 points at 21221.83, and the Nifty is up 14.15 points at 6313.30. About 1102 shares have advanced, 593 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought Indian shares worth Rs1875 crore on Thursday. This is FIIs biggest single-day buying since May 21.

Banks, auto, metals and realty stocks are adding to the rally. IT, FMCG and consumer durables stocks are under selling pressure.

Hero Motocorp, SBI, Jindal Steel, BHEL and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the laggards are PNHC, ITC, NTPC , GAIL and Infosys .

10:59am TVS Motor October Sales
Total sales remained unchanged at 1.97 lakh units in October compared to previous month.

2-wheeler sales increased marginally to 1.90 lakh units from 1.89 lakh units and 3-wheeler sales rose to 7,926 units from 7,800 units M-o-M.

However, exports declined 16 percent month-on-month to 23,154 units in October.

The stock gained 2 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

10:55am Elder Pharma under pressure
Elder Pharma lost nearly 2 percent on a media report that the company defaulted in Rs 262 crore interest payment on debentures.

10:50am Losers
Shares of ITC , Infosys , ONGC , Sun Pharma , GAIL and NTPC are the only losers in the Sensex 30, falling between 0.7-1.4 percent.

Among midcaps, Era Infra Engineering , 3M India , Kirlsokar Oil, ITDC and Essar Ports lost 2-5 percent.

10:45am Union Bank Boardroom
Union Bank 's management attributes its increase in NPAs to the economic slowdown. However, D Sarkar, its CMD expects the asset quality to improve with the Rs 500 crore infusion by the government.

The bank is mulling the right time for a qualified institutional placement (QIP) and is also keeping the alternative of Tier-II bonds, he says. The priority lies in increasing capital for future requirements as per Basel-III norms, he tells CNBC-TV18. He sees net interest margins (NIMs) to be stable around 2.6 percent in the fiscal.

10:40am Maruti Suzuki Auto Sales Performance

Maruti Suzuki gained 1 percent after its total sales increased to 1.05 lakh units in October from 1.03 lakh units in a year ago period on better exports.

Exports jumped 27 percent year-on-year to 9,025 units in the month gone by while domestic sales increased marginally to 96062 from 96002 Y-o-Y.

10:35am Market Update
The market remained in a positive territory as the Sensex is up 51.40 points at 21215.92, and the Nifty is up 11.25 points at 6310.40.

Banks are on fire today, especially PSU banks with the Oriental Bank of Commerce leading the pack, rising 14 percent. Dena Bank surged over 6 percent.

Other PSU banks gained between 2-5 percent.

10:30am Market Expert
Tirthankar Patnaik of Religare said despite the market at all-time high level, participation from domestic institutional investors remains muted. Infact, many retail participants are looking to exit at the current levels, he added.

He believes for DIIs to participate, the market has to hold the current level for few months. ''Talking to our insurance and domestic mutual fund clients we do not get the signal that they are looking to invest. We do not believe until redemptions go off, DII participation will increase in the market,'' he elaborated.

10:25am IT stocks are darling of investors especially after weak rupee

In the last five years and 10 months, TCS gained the most and became a most valuable company on the street, surpassing Reliance Industries . It crossed market capitalisation of Rs 4 lakh crore in 2013.

TCS rallied 320 percent during five years and 10 months followed by HCL Technologies , Infosys and Wipro with 263 percent, 92 percent and 59 percent gains, respectively.

Foreign institutional investors raised stake in TCS (from 10.79 percent to 16.09 percent), HCL Technologies (from 16.91 percent to 26.01 percent), Infosys (from 33.36 percent to 39.93 percent) and Wipro (from 5.24 percent to 8.82 percent).

10:20am Rally in Bank of India continues
Bank of India rallied another 3 percent today, in addition to 22 percent upmove in previous session following good second quarter earnings with improvement in asset quality.

Profit after tax of the public sector lender doubled to Rs 622 crore in Q2 from Rs 302 crore in a year ago period, but brokerage houses do not look happy with earnings.

CLSA and Macquarie maintained underperform rating on the stock with a target prices of Rs 200 and Rs 135 a share, respectively.

10:15am SBI extends gains
State Bank of India gained another 2 percent on top of a 4 percent rally seen in previous session, tracking improvement in earnings of other PSU banks.

Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of Baroda reported good numbers in Q2. So traders are betting on the stock on hopes that SBI will not disappoint with its earnings that is likely to be announced in first fortnight of November.

10:10am China data improves
China's official manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) expanded to 51.4 in September from 51.1 in August while its HSBC final manufacturing PMI rose to 50.9 from 50.2 during the same period. Shanghai is marginally higher.

10:05am Rupee hovers around 61-62 levels

Indian rupee fell 39 paise to 61.89 against the US dollar in morning trade.

According to NS Venkatesh of IDBI Bank , the rupee is expected to trade within a narrow range with a weaker bias.

10:00am The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex touched a record high of 21293.88 on Friday - a Dhanteras day, largely led by foreign liquidity.

The Sensex is up 61.72 points at 21226.24, and the Nifty is up 13.80 points at 6312.95. The market breadth is also in favour of advances as advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 767 to 379 on the BSE.

Better-than-expected second quarter earnings and deferment of Fed tapering are the two major reasons that drove the market to a new high.

''The play now is on liquidity, and market will get pushed towards newer and newer highs,'' said KR Bharat of Advent Advisors in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

9:55 am Big gainers: SBI is leading the banking stocks with a gain of over 2 percent. Other gainers in the sector include HDFC Bank , HDFC, ICICI Bank , PNB and Bank of Baroda .

9:50 am Market opinion: Tirthankar Patnaik, Religare feels that until redemptions basically go off DII participation will not increase in the market. For that the market has to stay at these levels for about one or two months, three months at least and then we would see possibly retail interest getting back in, he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He cautions that at the moment people just waiting to get out.

9:45 am Market outlook: Prabhat Awasthi, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securitas warns that the current rally may not sustain. He continues to prefer private banks over PSU banks. ''Slow economy is the main reason of asset stress in banking space,'' he adds.

9:40 am Sensex at record high: Sensex has gained 3 percent in 2013 so far.  Of the entire pack, 50 percent of companies in Sensex are trading within 10 percent of 52-week high. 20 percent companies are trading at least 25 percent away from 52-week high.

9:35 am Worst Sensex performers since Jan 2008: BHEL (down 72 percent), JSPL (down 56 percent), Tata Steel (down 65 percent), RIL (down 42 percent), L&T (down 34 percent), SBI (down 27 percent), Bharti Airtel (down 27 percent), ICICI Bank (down 21 percent).

9:30 am Best Sensex performers since Jan 2008: Sun Pharma (up 456 percent), TCS (up 315 percent), ITC (up 187 percent) and Hero Motocorp (up 200 percent, HUL up 160 percent).

9:28 am Sensex movers and losers since Jan 2008: Pharma, IT, auto stocks have been best performers while banking, oil & gas, cap goods, metals are worst performers.

9.25 am Market check: The Sensex is up 75.24 points at 21239.76, and the Nifty up 17.00 points at 6316.15. About 590 shares have advanced, 217 shares declined, and 37 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors , Hero Motocorp, Jindal Steel and Wipro are top gainers. On the losing side are ONGC , GAIL , NTPC , M&M and Bajaj Auto .

It is Diwali already in the Indian market as the Sensex hit all-time high of 21209.37, up 42 minutes few minutes after opening. The Nifty is up 7.85 points at 6307.00. The Sensex hit all-time high after 5 years and 10 months.

About 395 shares have advanced, 132 shares declined, and 21 shares are unchanged. The Indian rupee opened weak by 45 paise at 61.95 per dollar against 61.50 Thursday. NS Venkatesh, IDBI Bank said, "Global cues remain mixed as the fear of QE tapering start coming back to the table. Rupee is expected to trade within a narrow range with a weaker bias. The range for the day seen between 61.30-61.80/USD."

In the currency space, the euro is nursing heavy losses, having suffered its biggest one-day drop in over six months as a shock slowdown in inflation piled pressure on the European Central Bank to further stimulate the economy. The dollar index, meanwhile, has risen above 80 levels.

In commodities, Brent crude futures slid on Thursday, reversing the previous session's gains, as traders took profit and turned their focus to the end of the US refinery maintenance season, expected to boost demand for US crude.

From precious metals space, gold is trading close its lowest in nearly two weeks hurt by sharp losses in the previous session from month-end profit taking, strong US economic data and a higher dollar and it is now headed for a 2 percent weekly drop - its first in three weeks.